From brand new elementary schools in Willoughby to a big middle school with an Indigenous name, Langley’s school district is in the middle of the biggest building boom in its history. Here is what you need to know.
Langley News Online Staff·March 7, 2026·Schools & Families·7 min readSCHOOL DISTRICT 35LANGLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT · WILLOUGHBY, LANGLEY BC
New schools are coming to Langley’s fastest growing neighbourhoods. SD35 is in the middle of a major building program that has been years in the making. (Illustration: Langley News Online)
If you have kids in the Langley school system, or you are planning to move here, there is a lot happening right now that you should know about. School District 35 is going through a massive expansion, new school names were just announced, a budget consultation is underway, and two Langley teams just competed at a big provincial basketball tournament held right here in town.
Lets break it all down.
Two Major New Schools Are Getting Their Names
The biggest piece of news out of SD35 in recent weeks is the naming of the two new schools going up in the Smith neighbourhood on the Willoughby Slope. The Langley Board of Education made the official announcements at its February 24, 2026 meeting, and the names are pretty meaningful.
The new middle school will be called stɑtl̓əw̓ Middle School. That name comes from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language, which is the traditional language of the First Nations people whose territory includes the land Langley sits on. The word roughly translates to “little river” or “little creek,” and refers to a waterway that carries deep significance in local Indigenous creation stories.
“The name stɑtl̓əw̓ for the new middle school reflects our acknowledgment of the land and a renewed commitment to truth and reconciliation.”Candy Ashdown, Board Chair, Langley School District
The new secondary school is being named Emery Dosdall Secondary, after the late Emery Dosdall, who served as Superintendent of the Langley School District for 13 years through most of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. Dosdall passed away in 2020 at the age of 77. He is remembered for pushing schools toward more student-centered learning and for being a forward thinker who helped give individual schools more control over there own budgets. His work also led to the development of alternative and choice programs across Langley, which many students still benefit from today.
Together, these two schools will form BC’s first joint school campus in the Lower Mainland, located in the Willoughby area. The province is putting roughly $203 million into Emery Dosdall Secondary and about $103 million into stɑtl̓əw̓ Middle School. When complete, the two schools will add nearly 2,800 new student seats to the district.
New Schools at a Glance
- Emery Dosdall Secondary — approx. 1,900 seats, ~$203 million in provincial funding
- stɑtl̓əw̓ Middle School — approx. 900 seats, ~$103 million in provincial funding
- Located in the Smith neighbourhood of the Willoughby Slope
- BC’s first joint school campus in the Lower Mainland
- Both schools will include greenhouse gas reduction measures
- Adjacent to the new Smith Athletic Park, a $150 million recreational facility
Willoughby Elementary Is Also Moving
There is another school story unfolding in Willoughby that might effect parents in that area. In early February, the Township of Langley, the Province of BC, and SD35 announced a pretty creative arrangement. The current Willoughby Elementary may eventually move to a new location on six acres of Township land along 80 Avenue, right next to the Langley Tennis Centre in Yorkson Community Park.
The idea is that the current school site, which is centrally located near major bus routes and the Willoughby Town Centre, would then become the spot for a new community and aquatic centre that residents in the area have been pushing for for years.
Township mayor Eric Woodward has been vocal about the community’s need for aquatic facilities, and this arrangement is being pitched as a way to get both a modern new school and a community centre built faster by working in partnership rather than separately. The province and SD35 board chair Candy Ashdown have both said they support moving the process forward, though specifics are still being worked out. Expect more details in the coming months.
New Schools Are Already Open
While the bigger projects are still under construction, a new school already opened its doors in Willoughby last fall. Josette Dandurand Elementary welcomed students in September 2025 with 555 brand new seats. The name honours a real person with ties to the community, and the school is one of several new buildings that opened or expanded across the district last year.
Lynn Fripps Elementary got a 150 seat addition, and over in Langley City, Nicomekl Elementary added 200 seats. Together with the 275 seats that opened at Peter Ewart Middle School earlier in 2025, the district added over 900 new spots in a single school year. Since 2017, the province says its invested close to $600 million in Langley school infrastructure.2025 FallJosette DandurandElementary OpensFeb 2026New School NamesAnnouncedComing SoonEmery Dosdall &stɑtl̓əw̓ OpenSep 2025Lynn Fripps &Nicomekl ExpandNowBudget ConsultationOpen to Public
A rough timeline of recent and upcoming school milestones across SD35. (Graphic: Langley News Online)
SD35 Wants Your Input on the 2026–2027 Budget
Right now, the Langley School District is asking parents, teachers, and community members to weigh in on the 2026–2027 operating budget. The district has opened a budget consultation process and the school board says they genuinely want feedback before decisions get made.
If you want to have a say in how SD35 spends its money next year, this is your chance. The district is inviting anyone connected to the school system to take part. You can find the budget consultation on the SD35 website at sd35.bc.ca. It doesn’t take long and the district has said the input they receive does actually shape the conversation at the board level.
The district serves approximately 26,800 students across Langley Township and Langley City, and with the population growing the way it is, budget decisions have a real impact on things like class sizes, support staff, and program offerings.
Langley Schools Show Up at the Provincial Basketball Championships
On a lighter note, Langley had some home court advantage this week. The BC School Sports Boys Basketball Provincial Championships were held at the Langley Events Centre, and two local school teams made it to the competition.
The Credo Christian Kodiaks competed in the 1A division, and the Langley Christian Lightning played in 2A. Both teams ran into tough competition. The Kodiaks faced defending 1A champion St. John’s School Eagles from Vancouver in the quarterfinals, and despite a solid effort, fell 82–54. The Lightning also lost their quarterfinal to the Collingwood Cavaliers 71–55, with the Cavs holding Langley Christian to just six points in the opening ten minutes.
It wasn’t the results Langley fans were hoping for, but having the tournament hosted right here at the Events Centre was a big deal for the community, and both teams should be proud of making it that far. Hosting 64 teams and 128 games is no small thing for a local arena.
What to Watch for Next
There is a lot still moving in SD35 over the next few months. Construction on the Langley Secondary addition is expected to wrap up in spring 2026. The Willoughby Elementary relocation plan will have more details coming from the Township and the province. And the budget consultation will eventually lead to a public presentation before the board finalizes numbers for next school year.
For parents trying to keep up, the best thing you can do is sign up for your school’s email updates and check the SD35 website regularly. Things can move fast in a district this size, and decisions made this spring will affect kids in September.
We’ll keep covering it all here on Langley News Online. If you hear something happening at your school that we should know about, please send us a tip through the contact page.
